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De Silvestro pleased to pick up first Formula E points in Long Beach

Mexico City Formula E - Race

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - MARCH 12: In this handout image supplied by Formula E, Simona De Silvestro (SUI), Andretti - Spark SRT_01E during the Mexico City Formula E race at Puerto Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on February 6, 2016 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Zak Mauger/LAT/Formula E via Getty Images)

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Simona de Silvestro felt pleased to pick up her first points in Formula E after finishing Saturday’s Long Beach ePrix in ninth place.

At Andretti’s home event, de Silvestro battled her way into the points late on to rise to ninth place at the checkered flag, marking the first points for a woman in the series.

Since making her debut in London last June, de Silvestro has struggled to get to grips with the unique Formula E cars, but put her knowledge of Long Beach from IndyCar to good use on Saturday.

“I’m pretty happy to get my first points in Formula E,” de Silvestro said after the race.

“We’ve been so close so many times and we’ve never got them. So it’s a great step forward.

“The weekend was good, pretty happy to have it happen in Long Beach too because most of my racing has happened here in the U.S. so it feels like home. You always want to do well in front of your home crowd.”

Andretti co-team principal Roger Griffiths praised de Silvestro after a trouble-free race, and believes it will be a boost heading into the European leg of the season.

“I’m very happy to see Simona finally get off the ground and score some points, a ninth place finish for her,” Griffiths said.

“She drove a great race. She kept it clean, met all her energy targets and had a good clean car change. Those are all the pieces you need to do well and score points.

“It’s good for the team that we now have both drivers scoring points. I’m sure it’s good for her motivation going into Paris too.”

The Paris ePrix takes place on April 23.

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